Get Acting Verbs

In turn, scenes are further divided into moment-by-moment acting units called beats. A beat is the smallest unit of action in a play. It contains a distinct beginning, middle, and end. In a beat, characters pursue a simple objective. ... As a rule, beats shift when a character's motivation or routine changes.

Action is what an actor, playing a character, does or says to achieve an objective. Objective is what the character wants, or what the character's goal is. Intention, perhaps the most important job an actor has, is the meaning of the line or what's going on in the actor's mind the subtext.

An Objective is what your character wants in a scene. The most important thing is that the objective that you choose to play supports the story. In a quest to make their performances more comedic, actors will often intentionally choose an objective that doesn't support the story.

Objective What your character wants to get FROM ANOTHER PERSON in a particular scene or monologue. You may not always achieve your objective, but you definitely want it badly. At times the objective can change midway through the scene. Examples: To get my wife to stay with me.

Tactic: What the character is doing to get what he or she wants. A strategy. Always an action word (see next page for a list of acting verbs). The character uses a different tactic in each beat.

A beat is the timing and movement of a film or play. In the context of a screenplay, it usually represents a pause in dialogue. In the context of the timing of a film, a beat refers to an event, decision, or discovery that alters the way the protagonist pursues his or her goal.